Kenkrar
<< Back to Conlangs Characteristics Written Kenkrar is exactly the same language as South Wayal. The spoken language, however, is largely different, as it simplifies most phonological structures and changes the sound of some letters. We will deal here exclusively with spoken Kenkrar. Phonology Consonants All consonants before the vowels e''', '''i, ö''' and '''ü are palatalized. Pronunciation of palatalized consonants: Vowels Vowels are: Morphology Nouns There are two gender of nouns: masculine and feminine. Nouns are declined according to two numbers: singular and plural, and to four cases, viz.: #Nominative / Accusative (subject of stative verbs / direct object) #Dative (indirect object) #Genitive (possessive) #Ergative (subject of action verbs) Masculine Nouns | |} Feminine Nouns | |} Adjectives Adjectives are not inflected for gender, number or case. Comparative Form Superiority The suffix '-@l-' is added to the stem of the adjective, resulting in a new adjective. Ex.: *'kam' "large", kam@l "larger" *'mup' "new", mup@l "newer" *'pun' "good", pun@l "better" Equality Inferiority Superlative The suffix '-yen-' is added to the stem of the adjective, resulting in a new adjective. Ex.: *'kam' "large", kamyen "the largest" *'mup' "new", mupyen "the newest" *'pun' "good", punyen "the best" Pronouns Pronouns follow the same declension system used for nouns and adjectives, with little differences in some forms. Personal Although there are dual forms for all pronouns, they were not always used, plural forms being preferred. Dual forms were used mostly when the speaker wanted to emphasize the fact that the elements were exactly two. 1st and 2nd person pronouns have special forms, while the 3d person pronoun follows the regular noun endings. 1st and 2nd Person Pronuns | |} Possessive Possessive pronouns are declined like any other adjective. Demonstrative *'izhiw' "this" (very near) *'tshiw' "this" (not so near) *'dzhiy' "that" (far) Interrogative *'lyiw' "what" *'nu' "who" *'gog' "which" *'gun' "how" *'tshiy' "where" *'gat' "when" Relative *'lyiw' "that" *'nu' "who" Indefinite *'kakan' "some", "any" *'maman' "no", "none" *'dutu' "all", "every" *'lyet' "each", "every" Numbers Cardinal Numbers *0 sal *1 han *2 tuw *3 d@lzhen *4 g@dzhel *5 vag *6 zhiv *7 vad *8 shed *9 mush *10 tav *11 hatans *12 tuttans *13 d@lans *14 g@lans *15 gutans *16 zhitans *17 vatans *18 shetans *19 muptans *20 padzh *21 padzh han *30 dadzhe *40 kadzhe *50 vagdzhe *60 zhivdzhe *70 vadadzhe *80 udadzhe *90 mupadzhe *100 van Ordinal Numbers Ordinal numbers are regular adjectives. *1 ban *2 zhikad *3 dazhih *4 gohad *5 vagad *6 zhishev *7 vadzhen *8 udzhep *9 mupam *10 tazhen Conjunctions Coordinating *'nyeshin' "for" *'dzhi', goy "and" *'maha' "nor" *'vat', nez, bulN "but" *'uho' "or" *'ihad' "yet" *'yevna' "so" Correlative *'hap … dzhi … ' "both … and … " *'uho … uho … ' "either … or … " *'mashen … mashen … ' "neither … nor … " *'yew … vat … ' "not … but … " *'vu … dap … ' "not only … but also … " Subordinating *'tshizhe' "after" *'gadot' "although" *'zhi' "if" *'vad' "unless" *'yu' "so that" *'bada' "therefore" *'zhinsa' "in spite of", "despite" *'nyeshin' "because" Verbs Concepts The old thematic vowel turned to a simple palatalization (y''') of the preceding consonant. Sample Conjugation: petiol "see" Here is the full conjugation of the verb '''shet-y-o "see", both in stative and in action conjugations. In the stative conjugation the meaning is something like "to be able to see", "have the sense of vision", while in the action conjugation it properly means "to see (something)". Stative Conjugation Indicative =Present = =Perfective = =Aorist = =Imperfective = =Pluperfect = =Future = =Future Perfect = Participle =Present = *'shet-y-ad' -> shetshad =Perfective = *'shet-y-@t' -> shetsh@t =Aorist = *'shet-y-@st' -> shetsh@s =Imperfective = *'shet-y-@tiw' -> shetsh@w =Pluperfect = *'shet-y-an' -> shetshan =Future = *'shet-y-ol' -> shetshol =Future Perfect = *'shet-y-elyet' -> shetshesh Imperative Active Conjugation Indicative =Present = =Perfective = =Aorist = =Imperfective = =Pluperfect = =Future = =Future Perfect = Participle =Present = *'shet-y-ew' -> shetshew =Perfective = *'shet-y-ey' -> shetshey =Aorist = *'shet-y-@st' -> shetsh@s =Imperfective = *'shet-y-@tey' -> shetsh@tsh =Pluperfect = *'shet-y-@lay' -> shetsh@l =Future = *'shet-y-@doy' -> shetshoy =Future Perfect = *'shet-y-@lty' -> shetsh@lsh Imperative Vocabulary *Swadesh List: Here we give the Swadesh List for Kenkrar. Sample #Written: #*"Dut unanv@ns mevy@n rep@l, sye tyekmyetyet gyi tyelyihyedv@ns. Yuvyens dyimya lyesyew gyi gans@hansyeh, gyi tyipya ensyeyo han uholuk pul ispyelyed hanatyetyiky." #Spoken: #*"Dut unanv@ mezh@n rep@l, she tsheknyetshet dzhi tsheyshedv@. Yuzh@ dzhinya yeshew dzhi gans@sheh, dzhi tshisha ensheyo han uholu pul issheyed hantshetshitsh." *''("All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.")''